Planting, growing and caring for blackberries in the Urals and Siberia, the best varieties

Wild blackberry has very long stems covered with sparse thorns and a purine bloom of a bluish hue. In the first year, fruit buds form on the shoot, in the second, lateral branches with inflorescences appear. After the berries ripen, the stems dry out at the age of 2 years. The bush leaves are dried, brewed and drunk like tea. Ripe fruits of the plant are rich in organic acids, vitamins, pectin. Observing the requirements for planting and caring for blackberries in the Urals, you can count on a good harvest.

Content

• Listen to the article
• Description
• Planting blackberries When to plant
• Planting in spring

What seedlings to choose

Before buying seedlings, you need to decide on the type of blackberry and choose a variety. The plant bears fruit from self-pollination, therefore, only one species is grown on the garden plot, otherwise it is not possible to preserve the taste of the berries. Only varieties that are resistant to Russian frosts survive and delight in productivity in the weather conditions of the Moscow region.

Blackberry varieties that do not need shelter in winter:

• Agave;
• Polar.

Popular varieties require mandatory shelter:

• Darrow;
• Chester;
• Oregon Thornless.

For planting, it is advisable to purchase annual seedlings from proven nurseries. It is necessary to check that a bud is formed on the roots. The seedling should have two stems 1.5 cm thick and a well-developed root system.

Planting and caring for blackberries

• Landing: in late April or early May, when the soil warms up.
• Lighting: bright sun.
• The soil: drained, breathable loamy and sandy loamy soils with a slightly acidic reaction.
• Watering: during flowering and ripening of berries - moderate, but sufficient. The rest of the time - as needed: blackberries are drought-resistant.
• Cropping: in spring, summer and autumn.
• Top dressing: at the beginning of the growing season - nitrogen fertilizers, in the fall - chlorine-free potassium-phosphorus fertilizers. When mulching a site with manure, phosphorus fertilizers do not need to be applied.
• Reproduction: seeds and vegetatively: creeping - horizontal and apical layers, bush - dividing the bush, cuttings and basal offspring. Vegetative propagation can be carried out throughout the season.
• Pests: spider and hairy raspberry mites, kidney moths, raspberry beetles, raspberry-strawberry weevils, nutcrackers, aphids, gall midges and caterpillars of moth and glass moths.
• Diseases: goblet and columnar rust, anthracnose, powdery mildew, botrytis, purple spot, didimella, septoria.

Read more about growing blackberries below.

Reproduction

There are such ways to propagate blackberry bushes:

• seeds;
• dividing the bush;
• layering;
• by cuttings.

The seed method of reproduction is quite time consuming, but if you do everything according to the rules, you can get excellent sprouts. During the season, you need to collect the best fruits of your favorite blackberry variety. They are squeezed and rubbed on a piece of paper, which will help to easily separate the bones.The resulting seed material is slightly dried and placed in pots with a substrate of soil and coconut fiber. The seeding depth should be 4–5 mm. Contain crops at a temperature of + 20 ° C. When the first 3 leaves appear on the sprouted sprouts, they are transplanted into more spacious conditions.

The process of reproduction by dividing the bush is carried out in the spring. The plant is dug up and carefully divided into parts, they can turn out to be up to 6 pieces. The division is carried out in such a way that on each bush there are 3 branches and at least one bud per rhizome. Having previously prepared parts of the bush for planting, by soaking the rhizomes in a solution of the drug "Kornevin" (15 g per 1 liter of water), they are planted in holes for further growth on the site.

Reproduction by layering is carried out in the spring. You need to choose a powerful escape, which is buried in the ground. During the summer, it is spud and watered. By the fall, the cuttings will be ready for transplanting; they must be carefully cut off with a garden tool and dug out for transplanting to a permanent place of growth.

Cuttings for propagation are cut off in the autumn. Take annual shoots 15–20 cm long. The upper cut should be at an acute angle above the bud, the lower cut should be straight. Cuttings for the winter period are placed in a humid environment; for this, the content in sand, which is periodically irrigated from a spray bottle, is excellent. In the spring, cuttings are stuck into the soil at a distance of 15 cm from each other. By the arrival of autumn, the cuttings will form a fairly strong root system and will be ready for transplantation to a permanent place of growth.

Garden blackberry - description

Garden blackberry - a shrub or shrub vine with a perennial rhizome and flexible stem shoots, planted with sharp thorns, although at present, thanks to the work of breeders, thornless blackberries have appeared, characterized by stable productivity and resistance to pests and diseases. If supported, blackberry shoots can rise to a height of two meters. Blackberry leaves are trifoliate or five to seven-part, dentate, light green in color, pubescent on both sides.

Blooming blackberry is a honey plant. White blackberry flowers, about three centimeters in diameter, open depending on the variety and climatic conditions from June to August. Juicy blackberries, black with a bluish bloom, ripen in August.

Growing methods

The climatic conditions of the dachas near Moscow are quite suitable for growing blackberries, which patiently endure unexpected temperature drops. The semi-shrub grows on almost all types of soil. Planting seedlings is best done in late spring or mid-summer in prepared soil. Blackberries are usually planted near the fence or in the garden, on a separate site.

The availability of sunlight is an important condition for growing garden blackberries. The plant can bear fruit in the shade, but the berries will be small and lose their sweetness. It is advisable to plant the bushes on the leeward side so that the foliage is not injured and the pollination of the flowers is not disturbed.

In the second year after planting, young shoots of kumanik are tied to trellises and directed in one direction. For the convenience of caring for the plant and collecting fruits, the fan method of forming a bush is used. Fruiting shoots are divided one by one in a fan to the right and left, and the newly grown stems remain in the center. With the development of the bush in waves, fruiting stems are allowed to go along the lower rows, and young shoots are sent in waves along the upper ones. When forming a bush with ropes, young stems are left in the center, and the rest are guided along the wire.

Planting blackberries

When to plant blackberries

Growing blackberries is an unusual and difficult business, but the benefits of blackberries for the human body are a convincing argument for amateur gardeners to master the agricultural techniques of this rare berry for our gardens.Unlike other rosaceous crops, blackberries are most often planted in spring, and not in autumn - in late April or early May, when the soil warms up. Find a place that is well lit by the sun and protected from the wind, as the wind can injure the leaves and berries of the blackberry and interfere with the pollination of the flowers.

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It is best to plant blackberries not on flat areas, but on the southern or western slopes so that the blackberry bush does not suffer from the east or north wind. Blackberry grows well on drained, air-permeable nutritious loams, and feels good on sandy loam soils. On calcareous soils, blackberries will lack magnesium and iron. The optimum pH value for blackberries is pH 6.

Before planting a blackberry, it is necessary to bring the soil on the site in accordance with the agrotechnical requirements of the culture. To do this, it is advisable to free the site from weeds, pests and pathogens from the fall. If you regularly fertilize the soil in the garden, then you do not need to fertilize especially for the blackberry, otherwise it will rapidly grow greens to the detriment of fruiting. But if the soil is depleted by crops that preceded the blackberry, then when digging holes or furrows under the blackberry, mix organic and mineral fertilizers with the upper, discarded layer of soil at the rate of 10 kg of organic matter (manure, compost or humus), 15 g of superphosphate, 25 g of potassium sulfate per one square meter of the plot and cover the roots of the blackberry seedlings with this soil when planting.

Planting blackberries in spring

If you do not know how to grow blackberries and how to care for blackberries, then you have come to the right place. We will try to cover this topic in detail, understanding how difficult the issue is - caring for and growing blackberries and how important it is for a gardener to have clarity in it.

In order to minimize the risk of failure, it is advisable to purchase planting material in well-known nurseries, and it is best to buy annual blackberry seedlings with a well-developed root system, two stems more than 0.5 cm thick in diameter and (this is the main thing!) With an already formed bud on roots. The depth and width of the seedling pit is determined by the quality and age of the seedling, but the distance of the blackberry plot from the plantings of other crops or buildings should be at least one meter, and preferably more.

The size of the gap between the bushes depends on the ability of the variety for shoots and the method of cultivation of blackberries, and there are two of them - tape and bush. With the bush method, two or three blackberry seedlings with a low level of shoots are planted in one hole and the holes are placed according to the scheme of 1.8 x 1.8 m.The tape method is more suitable for varieties with enhanced shoots: seedlings are planted in a furrow in a continuous chain with a distance between specimens about a meter, and a gap of 2-2.5 m is observed between the rows.

The seedling is lowered into a hole or furrow, spreading the roots in different directions, and covered with fertilized soil so that the bud located at the base of the stem is two or three centimeters underground. However, the soil is poured not to the level of the surface, but so that a hollow or notch remains a few centimeters below the level of the site. This is done to save water during irrigation and to accumulate snow, rain or melt water in the excavation. Then the soil around the seedling is compacted and each of them is watered with three to six liters of water, and when the water is absorbed, the holes are mulched with peat compost or just manure. After planting, the shoots of the seedlings are cut at a height of 20 cm above the surface, and the fruit twigs are completely removed.

How to make a vegetable hedge from blackberries?

To create a vegetable hedge from blackberries, we need supports and wire.

Concrete or metal posts with a height of 2.5 meters from the ground can be used as supports (taking into account the fact that an additional 50 centimeters will be dug into the ground).

The optimal spacing for installing the supports should be approximately 3-4 meters. The wire should be stretched from the very bottom to the top with a step of 20-25 cm. To replace the wire, you can use a metal mesh in the same way.

Support for a vegetable hedge

After the frame of the fence is made, you need to start planting the seedlings of the plant.

It is recommended to pre-fertilize the soil for seedlings with organic and mineral-based fertilizers. Blackberry seedlings must be planted with a step of 0.5-2 meters under the wire. When the blackberries begin to grow, you need to skip the shoots between the wires and, if necessary, tie up the plants.

After the plants have grown to the top of the fence, you need to direct their end down to the ground, while, again, guiding the shrub between the wires.

Blackberry weaving pattern

It is worth paying your attention to the fact that the consistency of the fence depends on the density of the weaving of the shrub, thanks to this it is recommended to braid the shoots more closely to each other. It must also be said that along its entire length, the fence must be equally thick, otherwise the blackberry vegetable fence will lose its own attractiveness.

You need to know that blackberry pulps (rooting tips) can be cut off and planted side by side. In a limited time interval, a new bush will rise and fill the vegetable hedge.

Blackberry care

Growing blackberries in the garden

Caring for garden blackberries consists in regular watering, loosening the soil, weeding (if for some reason you have not mulched the site), fertilizing, as well as in carrying out preventive or, if necessary, therapeutic measures to combat diseases and pests, and, in addition all of the above, in pruning and forming bushes. As you can see, planting and caring for blackberries is laborious and requires specialized knowledge, so take our advice seriously.

Blackberry care in spring

first of all, it requires the installation of trellises, to which you will later tie up the fruit-bearing shoots of the plant with twine. Strong pillars up to two meters high are dug in at the beginning and at the end of the row on both sides of the bushes, as well as between the first and the last every 10 meters, three rows of galvanized wire are pulled between the posts: the first row - at a height of 50-75 cm from the ground, the second - at a height of 125 cm, the third - at a height of 180 cm. The stems of the second year, which will bear fruit in the current year, are tied to the highest wire, young shoots do not need to be tied to the wire, you just need to direct them, and they themselves will grab the wire. Shoots need to be guided constantly, they should not grow chaotically.

If you grow a straight-growing blackberry, be aware that in the first year it will not yield, and in order to get a harvest next year, it is necessary to pinch the main young shoots that have reached a height of 100-120 cm - their tops are shortened by 10 cm, and when they begin to grow side branches, they are slightly shortened once they reach 50 cm in height. As a result, the blackberry bush looks compact, but this does not affect the harvest.

Blackberry seedlings planted this year are watered regularly during the first one and a half months, as well as during dry season. Fruiting bushes need watering during the period of intensive growth and ripening of berries. To moisten the soil, you cannot use well or cold water; it is best to collect rain or tap water in a barrel or other large container and let it sit in the sun for a day or two.

For a good harvest of blackberries, the condition of the soil on the site is very important. If in the first two years you can grow tilled vegetable or green manure (used for fertilization) crops in the aisles of a blackberry, then in subsequent years the passages are kept under black steam.As weeds appear, they are removed, and the soil in the aisles is loosened 5-6 times per season to a depth of 10-12 cm, around the bushes themselves the soil is hoe or loosened with a pitchfork to a depth of 5-8 cm 2-3 times during the growing season.

If you mulch the area with straw, sawdust, needles or forest fallen leaves, you will have to loosen the soil and fight weeds in the area with blackberries much less often. In addition, mulching the site with a five-centimeter layer of rotted manure or peat compost will not only protect against weeds and prevent crust formation on the soil surface, but also become a source of balanced nutrition for blackberries.

Another feature of blackberry cultivation is the need to shade the area from the sun during the ripening period, since the sun's rays can "burn" black blackberries, deprive them of their presentation and reduce their quality. To minimize the harmful effects of sunlight, you need to stretch shading nets along the rows.

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Blackberry feeding

Fertilization times for blackberries are the same as for raspberries, gooseberries and other berry bushes. Nitrogen fertilizers (ammonium nitrate or urea at the rate of 20 g per m²) and organic matter with a high nitrogen content (4 kg per m²) should be applied only at the beginning of the growing season. Potash fertilizers, for example, potassium sulfate at the rate of 40 g per m², are necessary for blackberries every year, but not those that contain chlorine.

If you use manure as mulch, you do not need to apply phosphorus fertilizers, but if you do not use manure or any other organic matter, phosphates must be applied to the soil at the rate of 50 g per square meter every three years.

Blackberry propagation

Blackberries reproduce in summer, winter and spring. The creeping blackberry is propagated by apical and horizontal layering, and the bush one is propagated by dividing the bush, by basal offspring or by cuttings.

Reproduction by apical layers - the simplest method, which consists in the fact that in the spring any climbing shoot can be bent to the ground and dug in its top with soil - the top quickly gives roots, and then new shoots from the buds that are underground. After that, you can separate the shoot from the mother plant.

With the method propagation by horizontal layers bends down to the ground and is covered with soil not the top, but the shoot along its entire length. As a result, several bushes are formed and, having cut the buried shoot between the newly formed bushes, young plants are separated and planted in a permanent place. This method gives the best results in the spring.

Bushy blackberries are better propagate by root suckersthat appear around the bush every year. Only those of them that have reached 10 cm in height are suitable for separation and disembarkation. It is best to plant offspring in May or June - they will have enough time to settle down in a new place before the cold weather.

There are varieties of blackberries that do not give offspring, and for the propagation of these varieties it is used dividing a bush... The main thing in this method is to divide the dug out bush in such a way that each division is sufficiently developed and can successfully root in a new place. Part of a bush with an old rhizome must be disposed of.

Propagation by cuttings is used when they want to get offspring from valuable varieties of blackberries. In June-July, blackberry cuttings are cut from the upper third of the shoot, consisting of a bud, leaf and part of the stem. Treat the lower cut of the cuttings with a root-forming agent, plant them in small cups with a mixture of peat and perlite (or vermiculite, or sand, or crushed expanded clay) and place the cups under the film, maintaining a 96% humidity level in the greenhouse.After about a month, the cuttings will develop roots, and they can be planted in a permanent place.

If you are interested in how to propagate a blackberry in some other way, then much less often resort to the propagation of blackberries by seeds, air layers, lignified cuttings, root cuttings, but all these methods are more difficult to implement and do not always lead to success.

Blackberries in autumn

Caring for blackberries in the fall consists in preparing the bushes for wintering. The first step is to prune the blackberries, but you will read a detailed and detailed description of how to do this in a special section (below). After pruning, mulch the soil around the roots with dry sawdust or peat. Conduct preventive spraying of blackberry bushes and the soil under them with copper sulfate from diseases, and actellik from pests.

If your climate reaches -10 ºC in winter, the brambles will need to be covered. True, frost-resistant varieties tolerate this temperature normally; frost below 20 ºC is dangerous for them. There are several ways to hide a blackberry. For example, after pruning, you can remove the branches from the trellises, lay them on the ground, cover them with corn leaves, and lay a covering material on top - plastic wrap. It is not easy to lay the shoots of erect blackberry varieties on the ground and not break them at the same time, therefore, we recommend, starting from the last month of summer, to fix a load on the upper part of the shoots, which will gradually bend the branches to the ground. Blackberries are not prone to damping out under cover, so humus, hay, straw or sawdust can be used as insulation.

It is not recommended to use foliage fallen from fruit trees in this capacity, since it may contain microorganisms dangerous for blackberries. It is also advisable to rake and burn the blackberry foliage that has fallen in autumn.

Growing technology in the region

The technology for the cultivation of blackberry bushes in the Moscow region should be carried out strictly in compliance with the time of planting plants in open ground. The landing site and landing pits are prepared in advance, and trellises are immediately installed on the site. How to properly fulfill these conditions is described below.

The optimal timing for planting in spring

It is best to plant the bushes in the spring, so that the plant has time to get stronger and gain nutrients before winter. Planting is carried out after the snow melts, around mid-April. The minimum air temperature for carrying out this procedure should be in the range of + 12 ... + 15 ° С.

Preparation of trellis, site and planting pit

First, you need to select and prepare a site for planting shrubs.

Best suited territories:

• well lit;
• having light, loose soil;
• with a low groundwater table (1.5 m);
• no drafts.

The preparation of the landing site is carried out approximately 6 months before the actual procedure. The site is cleared of vegetation and garbage is removed. The soil is dug to a depth of 40 cm with fertilizers, which are applied in such quantities per 1 m²: 5 kg of humus, 300 g of wood ash, 50 g of superphosphate. If there is heavy soil in the selected area, it is dug up with the following composition on 1 m²: 5 kg of coarse sand, 5 kg of peat, 50 g of superphosphate.

Blackberry pruning

When to prune blackberries

Pruning blackberries is troublesome, but you need to do it regularly. Processing of blackberry bushes with pruning shears is carried out in spring, summer and autumn. Blackberries are divided into erect, which is called kumanik, and creeping - dewberry. Shoots of kumanik reach a height of three meters or even more, it forms many replacement shoots, like raspberries, erect blackberries bear fruit on two-year-old shoots. Most varieties of dewrock do not give root growth, its shoots look like whips with a large number of fruit twigs.

How to prune blackberries

In the spring, even before the buds awaken, dry and broken stems are cut off in blackberries, as well as the frozen tops of the shoots to the first healthy bud. Bushes of the first year of growth are subjected to double pruning: to stimulate the growth of lateral shoots in May, the tops of the branches are shortened by 5-7 cm, and in July the tops of those lateral shoots that have reached half a meter are cut off by 7-10 cm, in addition, only 6-8 of the strongest, and the rest must be removed.

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In mature bushes, in addition to frozen and broken branches, all weak shoots are removed in the spring, leaving only 4-10 strong branches on the bush, the lateral branches are shortened to 20-40 cm so that 8-12 buds remain on them. During the growing season, remove the root shoots that appear in the summer, leaving only those that have grown since spring - it is they who will bear fruit next year.

These spring shoots in the fall need to be pruned at a height of 1.7-2 m.In addition, remove all weak branches and, most importantly, cut all the shoots of the second year at the root immediately after they have ceased to bear fruit - they will no longer give berries, so in vain the plant does not need to spend food and strength on them.

Benefits of blackberry vegetable hedges

Garden blackberry is considered an undemanding shrub with dense branches with thorny shoots. The fruits of the bush are berries, quite tasty and healthy for human health.

Vegetable hedge in the country

The advantage of a blackberry vegetable hedge is as follows:

• The plant is suitable for a temperate continental climate, thanks to this, blackberries do not require particularly careful care.
• The cost of blackberries is small and thanks to this, the fence will cost an order of magnitude more affordable than a brick fence or a picket fence.
• Blackberry bushes can grow a couple of meters upward, which will make the site in the country reliably protected from prying eyes.
• Blackberries are considered a thorny bush, thanks to which it will be very difficult for ill-wishers to get through the fence.
• The berries are delicious and have good properties. You can cook compote, broth and cover jam from blackberries, which will make the fence universal.
• From blackberries, you can create not only a garden fence, but also a vegetable hedge in the patio area or on another part of the garden.

Blackberry pests and diseases

Blackberry diseases

Both diseases and pests are common in blackberries and raspberries. Just like raspberries, blackberries in our gardens suffer from rust, powdery mildew, anthracnose, septoria or white spot, didimella or purple spot, botrytis or gray rot, as well as from a lack or excess of trace elements in the soil and violations of agricultural practices of the species ...

Rust infecting blackberries may be goblet or columnar... The first appears in the garden, if sedge grows somewhere near the shore of the reservoir, the second is carried by the wind from the cedars or pines growing nearby. And in fact, and in another case, only weakened plant specimens get sick. The disease manifests itself in early summer by the formation of orange-brown dots on the blackberry leaves, which later turn into pads on the underside of the leaf. If the disease is not stopped, it can rob you of 60% of your crop.

As a preventive measure, they use the treatment of plants on freshly blossomed leaves with a 1% Bordeaux liquid, after harvesting, another session of such treatment is carried out - it will help you protect the blackberry not only from rust, but also from many other diseases. As a cure for rust, diseased bushes on a warm day (the temperature should not be lower than 16 ºC) are treated with sulfur preparations - a solution of colloidal sulfur, for example, which is used against other fungal diseases, as well as against aphids and ticks.

Anthracnose can infect blackberries in late May or early June, if the rainy, wet weather lasts for a long time: oval purple spots appear on the young shoots that have just appeared, which, gradually increasing and reaching the tissues of the bark, form gray ulcers with purple edges on it. Spots with a reddish border also appear on the leaves. In winter, the affected shoots die. As a preventive measure, carefully inspect the planting material when purchasing. Fertilize blackberries with peat compost, remove weeds on the site. Prevention and treatment of anthracnose is carried out by the same means as the fight against rust.

Septoria, or white spot, is ubiquitous. It affects the leaves and shoots of blackberries and looks like pale brown spots, later lightening, with a darker border.

Purple spot, or didimella, destroys blackberry buds, leaves dry and fall off, and the stem may dry out. The disease begins with the appearance of small brown-purple spots on the lower and middle parts of the plant. With the course of the disease, the kidneys turn black, the leaves become brittle, necrotic dark spots with a yellow border form on them.

Botrytis, or gray rot, also develops more actively on blackberries in wet weather, affecting the berries with rot. To avoid damage by botrytis, try not to grow blackberries in close quarters - the bushes should be well ventilated.

And, finally, the main enemy of raspberries and blackberries is powdery mildew, or spheroteka, covering fruits, leaves and shoots with a loose white bloom. The fight against all these diseases is carried out by the same methods and by the same means as the fight against rust or anthracnose. And most importantly, try not to violate the agrotechnical rules for growing blackberries, so that some ailment does not become attached to a plant weakened by improper care.

Sometimes it happens that blackberries turn yellow. This is most likely a sign of a micronutrient deficiency or excess. Analyze the quantity and quality of the fertilizers you apply and find where your mistake is.

Diseases and pests of raspberries - control and prevention

Blackberry pests

Insects that can harm blackberries: mites (spiderweb and hairy raspberry), raspberry kidney moth, raspberry-strawberry weevil, raspberry beetle, nutcracker, as well as aphids, gall midges and caterpillars of butterflies - fireflies, raspberry glass moths. In the fight against these pests, spraying blackberry bushes with actellik or karbofos gives good results, phytoverm and acarin copes well with them.

If you make it a rule to carry out preventive treatment of blackberries with these drugs in the spring, before budding, and in the fall, after harvesting, you can protect the blackberry and yourself from unpleasant surprises - insect attacks that destroy your hopes for a good harvest.

Pre-winter watering and feeding

Young seedlings should not be watered abundantly, but regularly during the first 1-2 months after planting. Also, watering will be necessary in the future if the weather is dry in summer and autumn. Bushes that are already bearing fruit need watering during flowering and fruit formation - regularly once every 7 days.

Young seedlings need frequent watering for the first couple of months after planting.

It is not recommended to use cold or well water for irrigation. The best option is to collect precipitation or tap water in a special barrel or other large container (for example, in an old bathtub). Such a liquid should settle and warm up in the sun for 1-2 days before watering.

In the second and following years after planting, the first watering is carried out in the spring after the shelter was removed from the bushes. The first watering should be abundant - up to 5 buckets per bush. The same moisture-charging procedure is carried out in the fall, when the plant is preparing for wintering.

In addition to watering, the bushes need shading from direct sunlight, but only during the ripening period of the berries. Otherwise, black blackberries can get sunburn, and their presentation, shelf life will deteriorate. For the purpose of shading, you can stretch a special or camouflage net over the plants.

The whole season, caring for an adult bush involves watering about three times. Such a small volume of water is due to the structure of the root system. In blackberries, it goes far into the depths of the earth, where it is able to independently extract moisture. With minimal watering, the bush can live in one place for up to 10 years. Surface moisture is partially retained by mulch.

Obligatory water-charging watering of the plant is needed in the fall before winter before the onset of frost. Simultaneously with the water, top dressing is applied under the bush. For the winter, the plant needs potassium and phosphorus. Fertilizer should not contain chlorine. You can dig compost with the addition of superphosphate under each bush before watering.

Blackberry varieties

We have already introduced you to the differences between upright and creeping blackberries. The description of blackberry varieties does not allow adhering to a strict classification, because modern hybrids and varieties of this berry, which is gaining popularity, sometimes combine both the characteristics of an erect species, conventionally called kumanik, and the features of a creeping blackberry, called for convenience dew grass. So, the best blackberry varieties:

• Agave - one of the oldest American varieties, mid-season and characterized by incredible winter hardiness: its fruit buds are damaged only at a temperature of -27 ºC, and the roots and stems can withstand cold up to -40 ºC. The shoots of the blackberry of this variety are powerful, faceted and strongly thorny, the berries weigh about three grams. And the yield reaches four kilograms per bush. Agave is resistant to rust, stem cancer and anthracnose;
• Thornfree - a hybrid, studless blackberry, bred many years ago, but still popular among summer residents. This variety ripens early, has a high yield, unpretentiousness to growing conditions, is winter-hardy enough and combines the properties of both kumanik and dew grass;
• Karaka Black - a new variety, ultra early maturing, but at the same time bears fruit until the very cold. The berries of this variety are elongated and weigh from 20 to 30 (!) Grams, they have excellent taste, characterized by high sugar content and juiciness. Karaka Black is one of the most drought-resistant blackberry varieties, it is immune to all blackberry diseases, there are very few thorns on its stems, and they bend well. The only drawback of the variety is its low frost resistance;

• Natchez - the early ripening berries of this variety are truly huge, their cherry taste is amazing, there are no thorns on the stems. It is one of the latest products of American breeders from Arkansas;
• Polar - Polish winter-hardy variety that does not need winter shelter. Compact bushes give a good harvest, the berries are large, the taste is pleasant sweet and sour;
• Valdo - the product of English breeders - miniature, compact bushes that take up little space and almost do not require shaping. Gives high yields from mid-July, winter-hardy;
• Loch Tei - also an English variety, unpretentious to growing conditions. The berries are medium-sized, but very tasty. You can collect a couple of buckets of fruit from one bush.

Repaired blackberry varieties bred by breeders not so long ago, therefore, they have not yet been very studied. They bear fruit until the very frost, before winter you can cut off all the shoots from them, and, nevertheless, next summer they will still give a harvest: the berries will begin to ripen on the shoots that have grown since the beginning of spring. The first harvest can be harvested in June, and the second harvest will begin to ripen from August. Sometimes remontant blackberries bear fruit practically without interruption. The problem of remontant varieties is their sharp thorns, but the permanent flowering of the bushes is extremely decorative - the flowers sometimes reach 7-8 cm in diameter.Of the varieties of blackberry remontant, American hybrids of the Prime series have proven themselves well:

• Prime Arc 45 withdrawn in 2009. The bushes reach two meters in height. Straight, strong shoots are studded with thorns, berries are elongated, dense, very sweet. The first fruits appear in June, the second time fruiting begins in August and lasts until the very frost;
• Prime Yang - erect prickly shoots, medium-sized dense elongated sweet berries with apple aroma. The earliest of the remontant varieties;
• Prime Jim - the variety was bred in 2004. Shoots are straight, strong, prickly. The berries are large, elongated, sweet and sour taste. A flowering bush with large white flowers and pale pink buds looks amazing.

How to choose the right variety

After the cultivation of a wild perennial, in addition to the creeping plant variety, an erect blackberry was bred. But almost all varieties of dwarf shrubs do not withstand such frosts as raspberries, which belongs to the same genus Rubus. In Siberia, where the air temperature drops to -40 ° C, blackberries grow, but it is necessary to plant varieties that are adapted to the harsh climate conditions and take into account that you still have to cover the bushes.

For the Urals, where strong winds blow, preference should be given to erect frost-resistant shrubs.

Blackberry properties - harm and benefit

Useful properties of blackberries

Blackberries, like the berries of its related raspberry, are a whole vitamin complex - carotene (provitamin A), vitamins C, E, P and K. They contain blackberries and such minerals as sodium, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, iron, chromium, molybdenum, barium, vanadium and nickel. They are rich in fiber, glucose and fructose, pectins, as well as malic, tartaric, salicylic and citric organic acids.

Blackberries improve metabolism and strengthen immunity, they have antipyretic and antioxidant effects and are a natural substitute for aspirin, however, unlike it, blackberries are not only completely safe, but also have a healing effect on absolutely all internal organs of a person. Blackberries also have a beneficial effect on the work of the digestive system, therefore they are often included in the diet of patients suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

The beneficial properties of blackberries are successfully used in the treatment and prevention of urolithiasis and diabetes mellitus. Juice from berries and young leaves of blackberries is effective for tracheitis, bronchitis, pharyngitis, sore throat, fever, gynecological diseases, dysentery and colitis. External use of the juice treats wounds, dermatoses, trophic ulcers, eczema, gum disease.

Not only berries, but also other parts of the plant are used for medicinal purposes. The amazing properties of blackberry leaves, rich in tannins, vitamin C, amino acids and possessing wound healing, astringent, diaphoretic, anti-inflammatory, blood-purifying and diuretic effects. Infusion of blackberry leaves is recommended for heart diseases and nervous disorders, a decoction and tea from them is indicated for anemia and as a sedative and general tonic for climacteric neurosis. A decoction of blackberry leaves is useful for gastritis, and fresh leaves heal chronic leg ulcers and lichens.

A diuretic is made from blackberry root for dropsy, and tincture from it is recommended to be used for poor digestion and bleeding.

Tying and shelter for the winter

By the second year, when the bush will actively bear fruit, it is important to tie up the branches. Thus, uniform illumination of the berry is provided, which allows it to actively ripen and grow. The best designs in this case will be trellis or fan. It is best to tie the growing shoot to the highest point, regularly tying the branches.Young shoots, which cannot be removed, but will soon have to replace that part of the plant that bears fruit, is also tied to the lowest tiers. As a rule, after a year or two, the stem that turned green and gave berries will completely dry out. At this point, it is important that it is completely replaced by a new branch, so that this does not affect the yield. Similarly, garden blackberries can bear fruit for about 15 years, after which the rhizome itself will need to be replaced with a younger one.

Almost all varieties of garden blackberry are considered frost-resistant, but it is still better to cover it for the winter. Spruce branches, sawdust or a special covering material are perfect for this purpose. You will first need to tie all the nearest shoots, carefully bend them to the ground, and then cover them. It is worth noting that if sawdust is taken for shelter, then they will need to be treated with some kind of compound that is harmless to the plant and can scare off rodents. Otherwise, they can significantly harm the shrub.

Harvesting and storage

Despite the fact that the blackberry fruit sticks well to the bush and does not crumble after full ripening, it is still necessary to choose the optimal time for harvesting. In some varieties, overripe berries lose their taste, the pulp becomes soft, which reduces the shelf life of fresh berries. You need to collect dark purple dense fruits. This should be done in dry weather so that the berries are not wet.

You need to pick the berries carefully together with the stalks. The harvested crop must be removed from the sun and placed in a cool place. You can use a plastic container with a volume of 2-3 kg. It is not tight to fill. After harvesting, sort the fruits, the crushed ones can be processed, and the berries with mold can be thrown away. It is not necessary to wash the entire crop before sending it for storage, otherwise the fruits will drain and quickly deteriorate. Before freezing, the berries should be briefly soaked in cold water, dried on a paper or cloth napkin.

We advise you to find out what the benefits and harms of blackberries are.

Separate from the stalks. Spread out in a thin layer on a board, cardboard or tray and send to the freezer. After freezing the berries, they are packaged in separate containers or plastic bags based on the number of berries required for one use, since they cannot be re-frozen. Then they are sent back to the freezer. This is done with all the rest of the crop intended for freezing.

Blackberries make wonderful jam, compotes, jams. To preserve the beneficial properties, you can grind it with sugar, and for longer storage, such blackberries can be frozen. It also does not lose its properties and is stored for a long time in a dried form. The shelf life of fresh blackberries depends on the characteristics of the variety; berries can be stored for up to 20 days on the lower shelves of the refrigerator or in the basement.

Storage periods in different states:

• frozen and dried blackberries are stored for 36 months;
• ground with sugar - cool for 3-4 months;
• the same only in the freezer - 12-16 months;
• jams, compotes - 24 months.

Video: roll up blackberry compote

By areas of growth

Blackberry is a southerner. But due to the pleasant taste of berries and unpretentiousness, it has become widespread in different climatic zones.

For Moscow region

In the Moscow region, the remontant blackberry with erect shoots has become widespread. It is easy to care for them, but it is necessary to tie them to a support: the plant overloads itself with fruits. The best varieties for the region: Ruben, Black Magic, Prime Jim, Prime Arc, Prime Yan. They give two bountiful harvests with ease. With the complete removal of last year's shoots, the only crop increases.

For central Russia, early varieties of remontant blackberries are preferred. They will have time to give both crops before the onset of cold weather. In warm autumn, the plant pleases with berries until mid-October.

The varieties Freedom and Gigant have proven themselves excellently. Their shoots are erect, up to 2.5 m high. Plants are winter-hardy.

For the Urals

The climate of the Urals is continental. It is characterized by cold, long winters and hot but short summers. In such conditions, remontant blackberries feel unwell and bear fruit poorly.

When and how to properly prune bushes in spring

Technologically, shrub trimming is necessary 2 times a year:

• the first time when you need to shorten the shoots;
• the second, when you need to cut out the fertile ones.

Gardeners often argue about the timing of these processes. And none of the points of view is absolute truth. It is also taken into account that modern garden blackberries are represented by weaving and upright varieties. The peculiarities of their processing must be taken into account.

Recommendations

In order for blackberries to grow and give a good harvest, gardeners should adhere to several rules of care. Details can be deducted in the blackberry garden care section. Here are some guidelines.

• Before buying, the seedling must be carefully examined for damage and disease, it must be chosen very carefully, because the fertility of the future bush depends on it.
• Another point of growing blackberries is a competent choice of a planting site. It is better to choose a sunny and open territory for a blackberry.
• Pruning should be done in autumn, winter and spring. You need to cut off old, diseased and non-viable branches. For the winter, it is imperative to cover the blackberries with a tarp or agrofibre.
• To improve the passage of air between the branches, the bushes must be formed either in a fan or rope way. The choice of method depends on the type of bush.
• Also, to get a good harvest, you need to carry out constant watering, weeding the territory of the bush.

What is different from regular blackberries

It differs from a simple blackberry remontant in the possibility of repeated fruiting. The first berries ripen on the shoots of the previous year, and the second - on the shoots of the current one, which have grown over the summer. If you take care of the plant, as for an ordinary blackberry, then it will bear fruit once. But remontant involves carrying out competent pruning for the winter. Shoots (old and young) are shortened to stumps 20-25 cm from the soil surface.
Then they carry out top dressing and shelter, for which peat, sawdust or covering material are used. Overwintered bushes will give their first harvest in June-July. And the regrown twigs will delight you with repeated fruiting in August-September.

Varieties

Despite the wide variety of varieties, blackberries are divided into 3 main types:

• kumanik or upright growing;
• dewdrop or creeping;
• half creeping.

These are all blackberries, but each species has its own distinctive characteristics:

1. Kumanika - the branches grow straight, more than 200 cm long. The stems are powerful, thorny, the tops are often bent in an arc. This species is characterized by good resistance to frosty winters. The mass of berries is on average about 4 g. Propagated by root suckers, which are formed in sufficient quantities.

   

2. Rosyanika - has long shoots up to 5 m long, which spread along the ground. The branches are heavily covered with thorns. It is characterized by high productivity and large-fruited, the weight of the berry is about 12 g. This species reproduces well in the shade, is resistant to drought, but does not tolerate frost well. Without insulation, the bushes will die in the winter. Propagated by cuttings from replacement shoots, or rather by their tops.

   

3. Semi-creeping - this is an average species, at first the branches grow straight, then over time they sag and spread along the ground. Shoots are very long, up to 6 m, without thorns. The berries have an average weight of about 6 g. Propagated by root suckers and by rooting the tops of replacement shoots. With mild frosts it winters well, with severe winters it requires shelter.

   

But all this is a characteristic of the species. As for the varieties, they may not quite match their appearance.

Where to plant on the site

To plant blackberries, you need to choose protected from drafts and strong winds, for example, along fences and fences. Also, for good crop growth and fruit ripening, there must be enough sunlight. When choosing a suitable place for planting a shrub, you need to remember some plant features:

• due to the fact that blackberries grow rapidly, they need to be planted at a distance of 2 meters between bushes for easy harvesting. There should also be a distance of up to half a meter to the fence;
• due to a lack of sunlight, shoots can stretch out and ripen poorly. This can lead to lower yields in summer and reduce the resistance of shrubs to cold weather;
• Blackberries do not like wet soils, so they should not be placed in lowlands where snow or water accumulates after precipitation. Groundwater in the area where blackberries are planted should be at a depth of more than 1 meter;
• the culture is demanding on soils: if there is not enough magnesium and iron, then this will have a bad effect on the development of the shrub.

In the place chosen for planting the plant, you can plant predecessors in advance: leguminous crops.

Pulses include beans, beans, peas, lupine, vetch.

The best varieties for central Russia, Moscow region

In central Russia and in the Moscow region in particular, winters with little snow have begun in recent years, as well as unstable weather, when in the off-season thaws often alternate with severe frosts. Under such conditions, the blackberry should be chosen with high frost resistance of shoots and roots, since the roots on which the buds of future shoots are located cannot withstand freezing of the ground below 12-15 degrees, and thin roots that absorb food and moisture die already at 5-6 degrees of frost ... The blackberry described below is highly frost-resistant, but still sometimes requires additional shelter for the winter.

Agavam

Agavam is an old, time-tested variety of blackberries that tolerates frosts up to 30 degrees, is also drought-resistant, shade-tolerant, is not afraid of temporary flooding of the soil, is resistant to pests and diseases, the berries are rich in useful substances. The bushes are thorny, strongly spreading due to the many basal processes. Berries of medium size, weighing 5-6 grams, the taste and aroma of which are always at the highest level, do not lose their intensity even with drought or waterlogged soil.

Detailed description of the Agavam variety.

Darrow

Darrow (Darrow) - tall shrub, winter-hardy, fruitful. Stems are powerful, abundantly covered with thorny thorns. Berries are sweet and sour, average weight 4 gr.

Wilsons Earley

Wilsons Earley is a winter-hardy variety with early ripening of berries. The bushes are tall with drooping tops. Berries are black and purple in color, sweet and sour, oval in shape, weigh up to 2 grams.

Tornfree

Thornfree (Tornfree) - thornless shrub, belongs to the dews. Vines grow up to 5-6 m, need shelter for the winter. The berries have an exceptionally sweet taste, fully ripe, weigh 5-6 grams, and are not stored for long.

Detailed description of the Thornfrey variety.

Black Satin

Black Satin is a studless hybrid, for which the Thornfrey variety was the donor. Shoots can be up to 4 m long. First, they grow upward, then strongly lean to the ground, need shelter with peat or textiles. The average weight of berries is 8 grams, they have a rich sweet and sour taste, black with shine.

Detailed description of the Black Satin variety.

Apache (Apache)

Apaches (Apache) - frost-resistant high-yielding shrub, without thorns, rarely get sick, not affected by pests. The berries begin to sing from the beginning of July, they are sweet, black, weighing up to 10 grams.

The remontant varieties described at the beginning of the article are also suitable for cultivation in the climatic conditions of central Russia and the Moscow region, provided that this blackberry is grown in a one-year cycle. In this case, later in the fall, it is necessary to completely cut off the upper part of the shrub, and carefully mulch the root system with a layer of peat or humus 10-15 cm thick.

Weeding, loosening, mulching

In the first years, green manures or row crops can be grown between bushes or rows of blackberry bushes. Further, the land near the bushes should be kept under black steam.

Sawdust mulching

If weeds appear near the plant, they must be promptly removed.It is necessary to loosen the soil once a month from spring to autumn, the depth of loosening is 10-12 cm.In the immediate vicinity of the bush, the depth of loosening is higher - up to 6-8 cm.

If it is possible to mulch the land on the site with pebbles, gravel, straw, hay, sawdust, needles, fallen leaves or other improvised materials, then the problems of weeds and loosening will disappear automatically. And if you use compost for mulching, then the plant will receive an additional source of nutrition, which is especially important during the flowering period.

Pre-planting works

Plum in Siberia: planting and care

Before the planting of seedlings is planned, gardeners carry out preparatory activities in the fall:

• unnecessary plants are removed from the site;
• all rhizomes are uprooted;
• weed perennials are destroyed.

Autumn site preparation

The final stage of pre-planting work is the digging of the entire area allocated for the berry. The depth is maintained at a full bayonet of the shovel. Fertilizers are spread evenly over the garden bed (15 g of superphosphate, 20 g of potassium sulfate, a bucket of humus - for each square meter) and looted into the soil.

Climatic characteristics of the region

It is possible to highlight the characteristic features of the climate for each region, which must be taken into account when growing blackberries. But within the same climatic conditions, there are differences in location (for example, the site is on a mountain, near a river or in a lowland). Other factors, such as shading, the location of buildings, prevailing winds, etc., also affect the development of plants.

In Belarus, there are two wild types of blackberries - gray (ozhina) and kumanika - as well as many cultivated varieties. The flowering period here stretches from the end of June to the second half of July, and the ripening of berries does not begin until August. In order for blackberries of earlier varieties to ripen, at least one and a half months are needed, for later varieties - over two months. Plants bear fruit best on the south or southwest side of the plot, which is illuminated by the sun for most of the day.

Garden blackberries bloom profusely and for a long time - almost until the end of July

The greatest harm to blackberries from this region is caused by a blackberry mite, and the most common disease is overgrowth of bushes.

The Urals are characterized by a harsh climate. The region experiences severe winters with severe frosts. It is also characterized by recurrent spring frosts, cold winds and a small number of sunny days. To harvest a crop from a blackberry, you need to choose a variety that will have time to ripen before frost.

Preparation

With the arrival of spring, preparatory work continues, which they begin immediately as soon as the snow melts. The further development of plants will depend on these activities.

Site preparation

The holes are prepared 7-10 days before planting the seedlings. Since the root system of blackberries is actively developing, the pits should be spacious enough. The best option is considered a parameter of half a meter for the depth of the hole and its width.

If fertilizers were not applied to the soil during the autumn work, this can be done now, but in a different amount. 0.100 kg of superphosphate, 0.050 kg of potash fertilizers, 5 kg of compost are added to each portion of the soil extracted from the hole. Two-thirds of the resulting mixture is poured back into the pit, covered with a small layer of fertile soil.

Preparation of seedlings

When purchasing seedlings, they pay attention to their condition. The roots are checked - they should be well developed, dense, slightly moist and free from signs of disease. Damaged roots should be cut off, and the cut points should be sprinkled with activated charcoal or treated with ash.

Selection of seedlings

If the sprouts are acquired with a lump of earth, it is recommended to slightly pry the bark on the shoot. In this way, they check whether the stem is overdried. Seedlings with closed roots are dipped into the holes along with the ground, after having thoroughly moistened it.

Formation of a bush of the first and second years of growth

It is also desirable to apply the concept of bush shaping to perennial berry bushes such as currants, gooseberries, viburnum, honeysuckle. The purpose of shaping pruning is to remove excess thickening and shape the bush.

Recommended reading

How to properly cut and form a blackberry bush In the first year of growth, a blackberry bush, regardless of whether it is an upright variety or weaving, is not recommended to cut it.

In the second year, you will already have shoots that should yield a crop this year, and new ones that will bear fruit next year.

The first pruning in a plant's life should occur after the crop has been harvested. From now on, follow the pruning rules for the specific type of blackberry.

The most delicious and sweetest varieties

Arapaho

Arapaho (Arapaho) - shrub with thornless upright stems. The berries are medium in size, very tasty and aromatic, growing on the side branches. The bush is frost-hardy; many gardeners do not cover this blackberry in the winter.

Osage

Osage is a thornless shrub with straight shoots. The berries are medium in size, weighing up to 5-6 grams, very tasty and fragrant, it is simply impossible to fill up with them. They are stored for a long time, do not deteriorate during transportation.

Blackberries are also considered the most delicious: Navajo, Karaka Black, Thornfree, Flint, Prime Yan.

How to shorten the stems

The main requirement for the procedure is not to harm the plant. To do this, use sterile sharpened instruments. Sterilization is performed by wiping the cutting surfaces with alcohol before working with each subsequent plant. Alcohol can be replaced by treatment with a solution of water and whiteness in a 1: 1 ratio.

The main features of the process:

1. All cuts of old branches are performed at the root. Don't leave stumps. They will become a place for the development of various fungi.
2. Any cut is made at an angle of 45 °.
3. Only branches are cut with pruning shears, the thickness of which does not exceed 3 cm. The rest are cut with a hacksaw on wood. Branches must not be broken, since any cutting line must be smooth.
4. Treat thick cuts with garden varnish or oil-based paint.

Did you know? There are about 370 garden varieties of blackberries in the world. And most of them have been created in just the last 140 years.